Christmas Countdown ... 10 ... Baubles.

Baubles:

The first “Christmas” trees were decorated with apples, strings of popcorn and pastry treats in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. They were illuminated later by candles. The first glass baubles were said to be made in Lauscha, Germany by Hans Greiner – at first, garlands of glass balls and then glass figurines. In 1840’s, illustrations of Queen Victoria and family around a Christmas tree festooned with lights, and ornamental glass baubles appeared in a London newspaper and also in the American Godey’s Lady Book in 1860’s . These illustrations encouraged a more widespread practice of decorating trees with ornaments and baubles in both Britain and America. Until the 1880's when the mass production of glass and moulded tree baubles began in earnest, tree decorations were created at home usually from paper, and lovingly used year after year.

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Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

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"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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